Tottenham Hotspur Greats – Arthur Rowe

By Keir Boxshall
March 24 2005

Arthur Rowe was a Tottenham man. Having grown up in N17 he came through our nursery Northfleet (now replaced by West Ham United of course!) and signed professional forms in 1929. He went on to become our captain before being forced to retire due to a cartilage injury in 1939.

He returned to Tottenham as manager in 1949 and found us as he’d left us, in division 2. He, like us, knew that was not good enough for Tottenham Hotspur, and immediately set about revolutionising English football with has own style of play – the world famous ‘push and run’. This exciting style brought us immediate success with the title won at a canter, that season (1949-50) we scored 81 goals whilst conceding just 35. The pick of the bunch being a 7-0 demolition of Sheffield United at White Hart Lane, they eventually finished 3rd on goal average from Wednesday merely emphasising the extent of our domination. Incidentally had the system been goal difference United would have been promoted in place of their rivals on goals scored. (Or if they’d just kept us down to 6!)

Confidence was high going into the new season with Tottenham fans feeling no team in the land could live with the passing and movement of Rowe’s side, and so it proved. Although a 4-1 thrashing by Blackpool on the opening day of the season must have left the 64,978 in attendance at the Lane scratching their heads along with Rowe! Things were soon back on track and in our best run of the season we won 8 on the trot including a 7-0 mauling of Newcastle United in front of a home crowd of 70,336. Newcastle went on to finish 4th. We finished the season as champions with 25 wins to our name scoring 82 and conceding 44 in the process.

Astonishingly although push and run football was leaving crowds in awe of our ability wherever we travelled it was being undermined from within, with two of the clubs directors even publishing an article lauding the merits of the long ball game in a match day program. Surely they were the original gooners in disguise?!

Unfortunately the following season (1951-52) the feat could not be repeated and 2nd was the best we could manage, losing too many games to mount a serious challenge to Manchester United despite 70,882 watching us beat them 2-0 at White Hart Lane. A repeat of the previous season’s 6-1 home thrashing of Stoke City the biggest we could muster that season.

With the unrelenting criticism of ‘push and run’ from Hornsby and Herryet (our own directors let’s not forget!!) and an ageing team, Tottenham Hotspur’s star was starting to wane. In the 1952-53 season we only finished 10th, to add insult to injury Arsenal finished 1st. There were highlights though and the Tottenham Faithful got the present they deserved with a 7-1 battering of Middlesbrough on Christmas Day. A run to the semi final of the FA cup included a 9-1 dismantling of Tranmere Rovers in the 3rd round, Blackpool beat us 2-1 and went on to lift the cup.

16th in the league, more defeats than wins for the second consecutive season and conceding more than we scored all made for depressing reading for Tottenham fans in the 1953-54 season. Our cup run ended in the 6th round with defeat to West Bromwich Albion who also went on to lift the cup. The only real highlights being a 4-1 home win over Middlesbrough and a 5-2 away win over Huddersfield Town. The champions Wolverhampton Wanderers beat us home and away.

In Arthur Rowe’s final season as manager 1954-55 we again finish 16th with little Chelsea winning the league much to everyone’s amazement not least Wolves who came 2nd. We did at least have a 7-2 victory over Sheffield Wednesday to cheer about. The Owls were relegated conceding 100 goals in the process so we weren’t the only ones to give them a panning that season!

Very sadly Arthur Rowe had a nervous breakdown in 1954 and never fully recovered with much of the 54-55 season spent with Jimmy Anderson at the helm. This was contributed to in no small part by the despicable behaviour and constant derision of two of our own, Hornsby and Herryet two of the most disgraceful individuals in the history of our great club. Arthur Rowe resigned at the end of the season.

Two of our players during Rowe’s time at the helm are worthy of more than just a mention, ‘Sir’ Bill Nicholson and Sir Alf Ramsey, you may have heard of them! They went on to become two of the greatest managers this country has ever produced with trophies galore between the pair. Without Rowe’s influence on these two Gods of English football would Tottenham Hotspur and England have achieved their finest hours?

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